As Lights practically skipped away, Ethan smiled back, then checked his watch. It was two fifteen. "Two more hours?" he complained to himself. He stood there for a minute, wondering what had just happened. Suddenly, though, he snapped out of it and started patrolling the level, looking for a mess to clean up, smiling widely. The rest of the day is going to be a bit more bearable now. he thought as he made his way around his new favorite level of the Ministry.

After getting out of the lifts, Regina found herself facing a beautiful room which was nicely decorated. It was very cozy, warm, and was welcoming from ceiling to floor. She walked with grace and poise as she made her way to the main entrance leading to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She saw a lot of people in the place, but didn't know anyone so she decided to go straight to where she was supposed to be: at her desk, working on her new job.

Maybe when she has a break, she'll go and try to meet new people. Yeah, break time. Good idea. She smiled as she passed a few people, while she arrived at the door leading to the waiting area. With a quick look behind her, Regina thought to herself, 'These are the people I'm gonna have to see everyday of my life. I might as well remove them from being strangers and start making them my friends.' And she opened the door to the reception room.

While he had walked in the Foyer many times, he had never really apparated into it. So landing in the center of the hallway with a 'crack' was somewhat disorientating to his senses. It took him a moment of blinking about to get his bearings, and then another second to check himself for injury.

All good and healthy he was. Heh. Always a good thing.

With a slow breath out, he gave consideration to the hall. While he knew this area, the transportation apparation testing area was somewhat of a fuzzy space in his head. He could remember the general details, but he had never really taken the time to familiarize himself with the layout of the room. Perhaps that was the point of this exercise. A little dangerous mind you, but then again if you couldn't reapparate into an area you knew little about, having an apparation licence wasn't the best idea.

Letting out a slow breath, he did his best to redraw the general area in his mind. While trying to get back into the hoop would be admirable and he could remember the position and location of it, he wasn't particularly inclined to miss by an inch and loose by a mile. So, he would just go for right beside the hoop.

Another slow breath and it was now or never. With a flick and a 'pop' he was gone once again.

During the very short trip from the crowded-with-baby-party reception area to the foyer, Ryan had been all deeply silent thinking hard about how this new, very unexpected news was going to affect his life. No doubt, he was going to be supposed to make some changes and sacrifices. And those necessary changes and sacrifices were making him tense yet he kept the emotion away from his face as he led Helena to the place which, hopefully, looked deserted for now. Both deserted and had comfortable looking seats. Okay, his first plan was not bringing her here but she was pregnant, he did not want to make her walk long distances plus this place seemed to be suitable: deserted and had comfortable seats.

Not yet saying another word, the man stopped and kindly indicated her to get her comfortable position on the one of the seats. And while doing so, he could not help but eye around a bit to see if there were any random employees that would randomly pass by.

Oh... well. This is convenient. Helena smiled as he indicated to the seats, and sat down on one of the plushier seats, with her feet folded under her legs. She really didn't like how she couldn't figure out what Ryan was thinking; he was too good at hiding his emotions...

For a moment, Helena was quiet. She fiddled with the hem of her robes, and glanced up at the man that was the father of her next child. She wasn't really what to say, or how to say it...

"Are you okay?" She asked, finally. Helena had done this before - twice before... Ryan, though... This was totally new to him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nixy!

Oh... well. This is convenient. Helena smiled as he indicated to the seats, and sat down on one of the plushier seats, with her feet folded under her legs. She really didn't like how she couldn't figure out what Ryan was thinking; he was too good at hiding his emotions...

For a moment, Helena was quiet. She fiddled with the hem of her robes, and glanced up at the man that was the father of her next child. She wasn't really what to say, or how to say it...

"Are you okay?" She asked, finally. Helena had done this before - twice before... Ryan, though... This was totally new to him.

Still no ministry officials or party people passing by...that was good. And as he observed there were nor invisible neither transfigured-themselves-into-stuff people around. And when the observation was over, Ryan listened to the silence of the corridor carefully only to nod with a little content smile when he got the full combined results.

No party people. Now, he was sure of it.

Finally he turned back to the woman but the smile on his face vanished when his light blue eyes met the other pair. He did not react to the question at all. Inside him he knew the answer to that question was complicated but there was the truth that he had never really been fine so one unexpected news did not really make much change with his position in the pool of problems.

''You are tense.'' he said still with the neutral tone ''You have told me something, yes. I do appreciate that. But i have not seen the burden leave you completely. Your mood did not change. There's something you are not telling me.''

And the detective was back. Helena noted how Ryan seemed to deliberately ignore her question. As he stated that there was something she was hiding, Helena bit her lower lip and leant back in the chair, resting her head against the wall behind her. It was almost as if her voice had ran away from her.

"I'm scared." Well, that was an understatement. Terrified would be a better word. "I don't mix well with pregnancies... There's always been complications. Lots of them... Some of them nearly costing me my life." Some of them costing me a child's life... Helena paused for a moment, wondering if those tiny details were ones the man in front of her had been able to figure out previously. She crossed her legs, and blinked away a few stray tears. The woman really didn't need to cry now. "I don't know if I can go through with it a fourth time."

Numble steped off the lifts he had forgotten how crazy those lifts were he chuckled to him self,it felt great to be back in the ministry hed been gone for while every since and he snapped out of it he didnt want to think what happen it was the past and should stay there he started to walk to the reception area he couldnt wait to get started in his new department. as he reached the reception areas door he takes a deep breath and walks in.

The door banged shut loudly behind him, setting Sabel's shoulders to flinch up in a wince. He hoped no one had been following too close behind him or they might have gotten a solid wall of wood to the face. But he still didn't turn around to check. Not even a glance.

His whole body seemed to be on fire and he couldn't seem to control it. The anger drove him away from the Auror office and a good distance down the hall. Every word he had shared with Wesley repeated in his head like a bad, agitating broken record. And there seemed to be no way to expunge it from his system. He nearly drove his hand into the wall when he finally stopped, but something had him reeling it to a dead stop a fraction of an inch away from the stone.

His chest heaved and his lungs burned. He probably would have broken it with all the force that he had thrown behind it. With a heavy expulsion of air, he dropped the palm of his hand and his forehead lightly against the cool wall. Among the replay of images and audio from the last few minutes, one solid thought echoed through. He needed to calm down.

He had been right to give Sabel just a bit of space as they left. Because Legend was pretty sure he wouldn't have enjoyed being smacked in the face by the door.

Shoving his hands in his pocket, he followed the other man. Legend wasn't doing anything, just watching him in case of...anything.

Once Sabel slowed down and rested his head against the wall, Legend approached him. "Want someone to punch? I'm game. Just don't mess up my face. My looks are how I get by."

He heard someone approach but didn't have the care or the energy to look up. Not when he was trying to control himself from launching into some tirade about justice and respect and Merlin-knew what else.

So, he was surprised when he found himself chuckling a little at Legend's words. With a weak effort, he reached out and very gently gave the other boy's head a slight push, more to mess up the hair than anything else. It was a silent way of saying he appreciated the offer, but he could never bring himself to hit one of his friends. No matter how angry he got.

"I wouldn't suggest, you offer the same to Wesley." Letting out a huff of air, Sabel pried his head away from the wall and turned, dropping his back against it instead. "I fear he'd take you up on the offer, and then some." He chanced a small, humorless smile at Legend before turning his eyes down the hall.

"...You make me feel like a five year old with a temper. Do you know that?"

Having gotten a little mixed up in a twist of the corridor within the department, Simon wound up heading into the outer corridor after Legend had despite the other leaving after him. Yeah...that so didn't happen. Lost was so not something he wanted to be and certainly wouldn't help his mood. He was just in time to hear his offer to Sabel to be a punching bag for the older man's frustration and raised an eyebrow in curiousity and interest.

Now Simon behave... he berated himself. The reason to get out of the office was to try and ease the tension not to 'take the fight outside' per se. He did bite back a snort at the comment on looks, covering it up with cough as he continued his way towards the lifts to wait. Doing his best to look innocent while he did have some attention on the two talking.

Following Sabel's light push to his head, Legend quickly brushed his hair back to how it had been before. "Hey now! Too close to the face." Way to close. The stomach was better, maybe even the arm, or perhaps just one leg?

"To be honest I wouldn't." It wasn't as though he didn't respect Wesley or didn't think of him as a friend. The other man was actually pretty cool. However..."You're right. He's the type of person who would purposely punch me in the face." And break his nose, jaw, and any other bone in his face.

And Legend didn't want that pain, no matter how much Skele-gro he was offered after.

At least Sabel was trying to smile. Which a whole lot better than how he had been in the office. He shrugged. "No offence mate...but you did sort of act like one. Wesley did too." Which was sort of worse right? Turning as he heard a loud cough, Legend simple watched as Simon walked by.

That was right. Go look for the fake lost cushions.

The smile lasted for about as long as Legend's joking manner did. With the agreement on his statement however, it quickly turned into a wince and a down-cast frown of embarrassment and shame. Tucking his hands slowly into his pocket, he pushed at the tile of the floor with the toes of one shoe. "You really know how to make a guy feel like an two-faced jerk, don't you?"

It wasn't said in such a manner as to be offensive. In fact, it was as much of a compliment as he could muster in his mind frame. He deserved to be reprimanded, though he found himself responding much better to Legend's manner than he had to Wesley's.

His eyes flicked up at what sounded like a mixture between a cough and a laugh, his eyes catching on Simon. He tried to manage a small smile for the other YATI member, one that tried to apologize without words for his ... display, but it was a weak expression at best.

"I just..." Frustration drew one hand out of his pocket and back through his hair, chancing a brief glance at Legend again. "I feel like they're trying to muzzle us. It felt like saying anything alternate of what they would have agreed with was just...a 'no' factor." Maybe that was just his own stuffed brain. The hand drew down his face.

He was glad he didn't care too much as to what came close to his face and what didn't. Legend was just, strange that way.

Simon could almost feel the look Legend was giving him as he stood with his back towards them, no doubt looking down upon him like he was a fool to actually follow the silly orders. The task obviously too beneath him. The newest YATI glanced back after a moment as if to check if he was right, their eyes briefly meeting before Simon looked away.

He caught the look Sabel gave him and returned it with one of his own abeit perhaps just a little brighter. The younger man would appologize in full for his own behavior and letting his friend down when the time was better. Like when they were at home, collapsed on the couch wishing to put the day faaaaaar behind them and Legend was no where to be found.

When he heard the lift finally arrived behind him, Simon was torn between staying behind and going, especially hearing what was being said. But he finally turned around sighing to himself, stepping into the chamber and disappearing as it moved quickly away. At least he could make up for earlier by being obediant, even if technically YATIs meant the other two as well.

Oh well...modified initiation.

Legend held out his arms and shrugged. "It has to be done sometimes. I heard that's how you keep people modest." You know, keep their ego's down and all. Clearly it hadn't occurred enough with Legend because he still thought he was the best thing since sliced bread.

His eyes never landed back on Simon. Whatever, the guy could listen if he wanted, or go and find some pillows. He didn't care.

Well...at least Sabel was thinking and not just running his mouth. Though Legend doubted Sabel was the type of person who just ran their mouth. He had a reason for his anger and hostility toward Wes. A reason that...made sense. "It's not a just a feeling. It's true." Legend shrugged. "But there are ways to handle it. You know...side step it to make them think we are agreeing with them when really it's the other way around. You can't go straight defying them. They are Auror's...Hit Wizards....Sabel they have thick heads-" He reached out and knocked the other mans head twice. "-just like us. Probably why we were accepted into the program."

EXTREMELY thick heads. Legend had a theory that everyone who worked at the MLE had their skulls coated in cement. "They believe what they want to believe. Just like we do. And if you want to get past that, do what I do. Annoy them so much they don't care." It worked with Emily all the time, and probably would work with Wes.

Now that he thought about it....it had to be tested.

Modesty. Sabel let out a huff of air and glanced sheepishly at the other YATI. More like humility served with a wrench and two-by-four.

As much as his guilt was doing a plummet deep into his gut, an unease decided to drop from his head all the way into his toes at Legend's words of acknowledgement. He was about to open his mouth and protest that he wouldn't stand for being repressed in such a way, when the other boy gave his head a light knock. That had his mouth shutting and his eyes back on the other boy. He barely even noticed Simon's departure.

With another huff of air, Sabel's mood dropped to a form of resignation. "We're just as willing, if not more so, to lay our lives down for the Ministry, for them as they are. We deserve the right to be heard." Maybe there was another way to approach it, maybe Legend, in all his mischief, was right. He just couldn't stand the thought of letting something think they had him submissive and subservient to any command they gave.

Then again, he had chosen to dedicate himself to the Ministry and to Law Enforcement. And so had they. A group of thick heads knocking together. Nothing was ever particularly easy.

Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, Sabel shook his head with a weak smile. "You, Legend Chosen, are gifted with the tact of being deviously annoying." The smile widened a little as he tucked his hand back into his pocket. "That, is neither a skill nor a gift that I possess."

He was more a tool blatant defiance. And as Legend was so kind in pointing out, it wasn't a good tool to be.

Legend intertwined his fingers and placed them behind his head, it was like a makeshift pillow. "Sabel. As soon as you shut up you'll be heard." It sounded weird, Legend knew it. But it did make sense. The nineteen year old just sighed.

"You have one more year as a YATI. Only one. As soon as you are acknowledged as a real Auror then yeah you'll be heard. But you won't be able to get that far if you keep going and annoying people like Wes. You'll get kicked out." Then no respect, no job, no....office. What else did Auror's get? No more almost dying? Things like that. Sabel wouldn't get any of it if he was kicked out.

And just because he needed more truth, Legend couldn't stop there. The Gryffindor in him wouldn't let him. "At the end of the day. You are still a YATI. And if Van has to go and make the choice between letting you or Wes go because of how thick your skulls are? You'll be let go first." It made more sense, and it was the sad reality of everything.

A small grin broke out on his face. "Well mate, we are here to learn. I could teach you a thing or two." Or fifty. He'd be good at teaching someone how to be annoying.

Sabel was quiet, dead quiet as he listened to Legend. In all his years of being a YATI, even of being a student at Hogwarts, he didn't think he'd ever heard the boy speak so plainly, honestly and maturely. He didn't think he'd heard any Gryffindor speak as Legend was now. While it humbled him, it also made him proud. Very proud for his friend.

"I know." The admittance was as quiet as his expression. He knew Wesley was more valuable than he was. Heck, sometimes he didn't know why Evander kept him around; he had caused plenty of trouble in the past. Legend was right, he was walking on a very thin rope that seemed ready to snap. No, that he seemed ready to cut from under himself.

A small smile touched his lips as he reached out and clapped his friend on the shoulder. "I think, I have a lot to learn from you." He hoped he could learn how to be silent. "Thank you..."

Sabels silence was a bit frightening. Probably because Legend wasn't sure if the boy was calming down or getting angry again. He really hopped he hadn't said anything to set the other man off again, especially on him this time.YATI's needed to stick together.

Except for Simon, Simon could be pushed down a flight of stairs. Unless of course he was nice to him.

Legend let out a small sigh of relief once he heard Sabel's voice. That meant he was right.

Awesome.

"I have quite a bit to learn from you too man. That's why you can't do stupid things that will make them kick you out." No. Legend needed Sabel and Emily. He did. He grinned as Sabel clapped his shoulder, then turned toward the lifts. "No problem. Now lets go find those missing cushions." That were either real or not real. Legend couldn't decide, but if they were real he wanted to be the one to find them.

"I'd...be careful what you pick up from me." Sabel mused with a half-smile. Goodness knew the ministry didn't need Legend learning how to run off with his mouth like Sabel did. It was reassuring to hear however, that he hadn't lost all confidence with the other YATI's; or with Legend at least.

Shaking his head a little, he tucked his hands in his pockets. "You go ahead. I think I need to walk this off and...think some things through." He gave the boy a small smile, turning to leave before a sudden thought had him halting.

"Legend," his eyes turned back to Chosen, "What's going on between you and Simon?" As far as he remembered, the two had never been so teeth-to-neck before.

Careful what he picked up? Like Sabel's comebacks? Legend just grinned. Sure, he'd pretend like he wasn't picking stuff up. He would never use it on people who were too important though.

"Right. We need you back to your old self rather than finding cushions anyways." No one would mind, Legend was sure of it.

He was ready to make some sort of plan for finding the cushions when Sabel, called out his name. The blond just shrugged. "I was kidding around about the coffee thing, but he wouldn't even take me seriously." That was not okay for him. "I'm not going to respect him if he's not going to respect me because we shared a dorm." Legend was in the program longer, and therefore he knew more.

Sabel's smile at Legend's agreement quickly faded upon the boy's explanation of the strange situation that had arisen. For a moment he worried his bottom lip between his teeth, considering the other man. "If anything, there should be respect because you shared a dorm." Living together required respect, period. Then again, young people did foolish things from time to time, he knew that as well as anyone.

"Give it a day or two. Might just be nerves." Letting out a slow breath, he drew his hand through his hair and gave Legend a lopsided smile. "In the meantime I'd suggest not doing anything too harsh. And don't send them after Emily's desk. She will light their hair on fire...and yours."

The teasing smile dropped a little for an more serious expression. "I can have a chat with him if you like." Not that he ever knew Legend to pawn off his problems on someone else, but hey, he was offering so it wasn't really 'pawning'.

Roxanne needed to get out of the office for a minute. Just for a minute. Find someplace with more comfortable chairs. Her office chair was comfortable enough, sure, but it made her bottom hurt after awhile. Coming upon the small seating area in the foyer, she smiled. Ah, those chairs look inviting. She flopped down into one, stretching her legs out in front her, crossed at the ankles. She leaned her head back and sighed happily. Yep, perfect. Now, if only she had someone to talk to to keep from becoming too relaxed and falling asleep…

Benjamin stepped off the elevator. He was just doing reconnaissance with Magical Accidents. They gave him another file to look at. Walking through the corridor he was reading/memorizing the file. He looked up to see the portraits looking at him.

"Excuse me," he said and moved out of the way of the paintings. He stopped and leaned against the wall because he noticed something off about the file. He was looking for more possible errors.